Even couch potatoes need a plan to maximize their passive form of sports-viewing pleasure in the overpopulated bowl season, which begins Saturday.

Without a blueprint, the couch potato is left to wander aimlessly, remote in hand, through a bowl wilderness in which well over half of the 116 eligible Football Bowl Subdivision teams, including one with a losing record, play in the 35 bowls, nearly a third of which have the audacity to feature teams that don't have winning records.

The couch potato with foresight will begin by circling three dates:

-- Dec. 29 - A Saturday in which you can watch 14 consecutive hours of bowl games, which provides a rationale to plant your butt in front of the TV all day long, snacks at the ready.

-- Jan. 1 - This traditional big-bowl date packs six games, including Stanford in the Rose Bowl and controversial Northern Illinois in the Orange Bowl, into 12 consecutive hours of bowl viewing on a relaxing Tuesday following New Year's Eve revelry.

-- Jan. 7 - Date of the national championship game, which, with Notre Dame and defending champion Alabama involved on a Monday night with no NFL game, is a good bet to break ratings records and is worth watching if only because everybody - even people who don't care about college football - will claim they saw it.

To help you differentiate the must-see games from the bowl fodder so you can establish a bowl-viewing schedule, we provide a Watchability Meter, or WM - a numerical rating from 0 to 10 for all 35 games in the bowl schedule, with 0 indicating that the log-burning channel offers preferable viewing and 10 suggesting that the purchase of a reclining chair and a big-screen TV for that one game would be money well spent.

New Mexico Bowl, 10 a.m. Saturday, ESPN - Nevada (7-5) vs. Arizona (7-5): Not a bad start to the bowl season. The nation's top two rushers - Arizona's Ka'Deem Carey and Nevada's Stefphon Jefferson - square off, and it will be high scoring, because both teams score a lot and give up a lot. WM: 5.1

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, 1:30 p.m. Saturday, ESPN - Toledo (9-3) vs. Utah State (10-2): The intense blue turf at Boise State will stimulate the visual senses, and Toledo quarterback Terrance Owens and running back David Fluellen should be recovered from ankle injuries. 4.1

Poinsettia Bowl, 5 p.m., Thursday, ESPN - BYU (7-5) vs. San Diego State (9-3): The Aztecs, playing on their home turf at Qualcomm Stadium, are 5-0 overall since Adam Dingwell became their quarterback, including a win at Boise State. BYU has started three quarterbacks this season. 4.7

New Orleans Bowl, 9 a.m., next Saturday, ESPN - East Carolina (8-4) vs. Louisiana Lafayette (8-4): A little early for Saturday viewing, this game offers nothing distinctive. Louisiana-Lafayette lost at Florida by just seven (27-20), if that piques your interest. 3.9

Las Vegas Bowl, 12:30 p.m. next Saturday, ESPN - Washington (7-5) vs. Boise State (10-2): Washington beat two teams in the final BCS top 13 - Stanford and Oregon State - but it also lost to Washington State. Despite its record, Boise is not the elite team it's been in recent seasons. 5.9

Little Caesars Pizza Bowl, 4:30 p.m. Dec. 26, ESPN - Western Kentucky (7-5) vs. Central Michigan (6-6): Western Kentucky got its first bowl berth, but that does not make it worth watching, especially since coach Willie Taggart took the Central Florida job. Besides a nice time slot, the game, played at Detroit's Ford Field and formerly known as the Motor City Bowl, has little to offer. 3.7

Military Bowl, noon, Dec. 27, ESPN - San Jose State (10-2) vs. Bowling Green (8-4): The Spartans got little recognition for an outstanding season, and being trapped in a noon game on a Thursday won't help. But Bay Area folks may want to see San Jose State QB David Fales, who's third in the nation in pass efficiency. With coach Mike MacIntyre taking the Colorado job, defensive coordinator Kent Baer will lead the Spartans at RFK Stadium. 6.0

Belk Bowl, 3:30 p.m. Dec. 27, ESPN - Cincinnati (9-3) vs. Duke (6-6): Duke's in a bowl for the first time in 18 years - in nearby Charlotte, no less - but it lost its final four regular-season games. The most appealing thing about Cincinnati is its quarterback's name - Munchie Legaux. 5.0

Holiday Bowl, 6:45 p.m. Dec. 27, ESPN - Baylor (7-5) vs. UCLA (9-4): A lot of good things here in San Diego: excellent viewing time on a Thursday evening, and two offenses that should put up points and feature offensive stars - Bruins running back Johnathan Franklin and Baylor wide receiver Terrance Williams, the nation's leading receiver. 7.1

Independence Bowl, 11 a.m. Dec. 28, ESPN - Ohio (8-4) vs. Louisiana-Monroe (8-4): This Shreveport, La., bowl invited Louisiana Tech, which had the highest scoring team in 17 years under new Cal coach Sonny Dykes. Tech dawdled, so we have an Ohio team riding a three-game losing streak and Monroe in its first bowl ever. 3.9

Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas, 6 p.m. Dec. 28, ESPN - Minnesota (6-6) vs. Texas Tech (7-5): Tech, 6-1 and ranked No. 14 at one point, is second in the nation in passing offense and yielded more than 50 points four times. The Gophers finished last in their Big Ten division. 4.4

Armed Forces Bowl, 8:45 a.m. Dec. 29, ESPN - Rice (6-6) vs. Air Force (6-6): Unless you are mesmerized by the Falcons' triple-option, early Saturday mornings are better spent watching cartoons. With the game played at Fort Worth, Texas, Rice might have the advantage in the game between .500 teams. 2.8

Pinstripe Bowl, 12:15 p.m. Dec. 29, ESPN - West Virginia (7-5) vs. Syracuse (7-5): Do you remember when the Mountaineers were 5-0 and ranked No. 5 and Geno Smith was the Heisman front-runner? Can't get used to football at Yankee Stadium. 5.9

Alamo Bowl, 3:45 p.m. Dec. 29, ESPN - Texas (8-4) vs. Oregon State (9-3): The Beavers were the nation's biggest surprise, and this is an intriguing high-profile bowl in San Antonio between a coach (Oregon State's Mike Riley) who has limited resources against one (Mack Brown) who has limitless resources. 6.9

Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl, 7:15 p.m. Dec. 29, ESPN - TCU (7-5) vs. Michigan State (6-6): TCU went 3-5 after it lost QB Casey Pachall, and the Spartans slipped after a 2-0 start. Michigan State running back Le'Veon Bell is worth watching on the Sun Devil Stadium turf if you have no Saturday night plans. 5.0

Music City Bowl, 9 a.m. Dec. 31, ESPN - North Carolina State (7-5) vs. Vanderbilt (8-4): Vandy being in a bowl in consecutive seasons for the first time - and this one in nearby Nashville - says something about second-year coach James Franklin. So does the Wolfpack's firing its coach, Tom O'Brien. Way too early on Monday morning. 4.3

Liberty Bowl, 12:30 p.m. Dec. 31, ESPN - Iowa State (6-6) vs. Tulsa (10-3): Played in Memphis, this is a rematch of the season opener won by the Cyclones 38-23. Unless it's for the national title, a rematch is not good viewing material, especially on a Monday. 4.0

Gator Bowl, 9 a.m. Jan. 1, ESPN2 - Mississippi State (8-4) vs. Northwestern (9-3): These are decent teams playing in Jacksonville, Fla., but this is way too early the morning after New Year's Eve partying. Mississippi State lost four of five after starting 7-0. 5.9

Heart of Dallas Bowl, 9 a.m. Jan. 1, ESPNU - Purdue (6-6) vs. Oklahoma State (7-5): The Cowboys score a lot and are exciting, but it's still too early on New Year's Day. Plus, there's a reason Purdue fired its coach. 5.4

Capital One Bowl, 10 a.m., Jan. 1, Channel: 7 Channel: 10 - Georgia (10-2) vs. Nebraska (10-3): Competing with the Outback Bowl will be difficult, especially if Nebraska falls apart in Orlando early as it did in the Big Ten title game. The Bulldogs must forget they were just 5 yards from a national title game berth. 6.6

Outback Bowl, 10 a.m. Jan. 1, ESPN - South Carolina (10-2) vs. Michigan (8-4): The Wolverines have a strong following, and Denard Robinson will be worth watching in Tampa, especially against the Gamecocks' strong defense. Have a remote handy to switch back and forth with the Capital One Bowl. 7.2

Rose Bowl, 2 p.m. Jan. 1, ESPN - Wisconsin (8-5) vs. Stanford (11-2): As in its last Rose Bowl appearance, after the 1999 season, the Cardinal face a Wisconsin team coached by Barry Alvarez (Bret Bielema, who got the Badgers there, left for Arkansas) and featuring an All-America runner (Ron Dayne last time, Montee Ball this time). This is a must-see. 7.9

Orange Bowl, 5:30 p.m. Jan. 1, ESPN - Northern Illinois (12-1) vs. Florida State (11-2): Can a Mid-American Conference team show it deserves to be in a BCS game? 6.8

BBVA Compass Bowl, 10 a.m. Jan. 5, ESPN - Pittsburgh (6-6) vs. Mississippi (6-6): Why two teams without winning records are allowed to play this late in the bowl season remains a mystery. Move along, nothing to see here in Birmingham, Ala. 2.1

GoDaddy.com Bowl, 6 p.m. Jan. 6, ESPN - Kent State (11-2) vs. Arkansas State (9-3): These are pretty good teams, but the two head coaches who got them here (Arkansas State's Gus Malzahn and Kent State's Darrell Hazell) won't be in Mobile, Ala.; they left to take higher profile jobs (Auburn and Purdue, respectively), which tells you something. 3.7

BCS National Championship, 5:30 p.m. Jan. 7, ESPN - Notre Dame (12-0) vs. Alabama (12-1): Any national championship game is a TV ratings giant, but one that features the biggest TV draw in college sports against the defending national champ and a budding dynasty is a viewing bonanza, even if there won't be many points scored in Miami. 9.5

Bowl season at a glance

-- Saturday marks the kickoff of the bowl season with the first two of 35 televised games.

-- Starting Thursday, there will be games on 16 of 19 days, culminating with the BCS title game on Jan. 7.

-- The biggest point spread is Oklahoma State favored by 16 1/2 over Purdue in the Heart of Dallas Bowl on Jan. 1.

Numbers game

1: Team with a losing record (Georgia Tech, 6-7)

8: Pac-12 teams playing in bowl games

9: Games featuring teams that have combined for double-digit losses

12: Teams with 6-6 records

WM defined

The Watchability Meter - or WM - is a mathematically precise formula based on the significance of the game, quality of the participants, entertainment potential, star power and a few lesser factors (such as game time, local interest and school name recognition). The higher the number, the more watchable the game.